The computer market is currently going through one of the roughest spots in recent memory. Consumers continue to purchase devices such as smartphones and tablets instead of upgrading older computers, and even some businesses are holding off on new system purchases/operating system upgrades. Despite these foibles, Microsoft still hit the 100 million licenses sold milestone with Windows 8.

The good news for Microsoft is that industry executives say prices for Windows 8 devices are set to decline over the coming months, which should lead to increased consumer interest in the operating system.

Executives from computer maker Acer have noted that Microsoft is being more "considerate" to its partners and has begun adopting suggestions made by partners "at a high percentage."

"When we were talking to Microsoft, our input to them is balance,” said Acer President Jim Wong. “The world in the next five years is not going 100 percent to touch. Although touch makes a lot of possibilities for PCs, you need to take care of the rest of the world that doesn’t need touch."

Windows Chief Tami Reller acknowledges that there are issues with Windows 8 and that the software giant is working to adjust to consumer feedback. She stopped short of confirming any specific feature changes, but rumors continue to hint that Windows 8.1 will see a return of the Start button.

Forgot to mention that the 50:50 screen split mode brings back some poor semblance of "windows" for those who need more than one app open, active and in a window large enough to be usable at the same time instead of just docked on the left of the display, something that's not practical due to limited display size on tablets and smartphones which is why it's not included in the Tiles1, uh, I mean Win8, tablet/smartphone UI. Of course, no one ever needs more than two apps open and active and 50:50 will be the ideal screen sharing ratio for the dynamic output of every app (sarcasm).